Tuesday, January 5, 2010

1-5-09 Boombox Man

Sometimes coming up with a title is everything.

Other than my computer and a microphone, the only piece of equipment that I currently own is a Line 6 audio interface. In non-technical terms, it takes an analog signal - a microphone or an instrument - and converts it to digital. It also has some bundled software with a lot of preset effects which are fun to play with. For example, you can plug a guitar into it and get screeching feedback sounds, without all that pesky pissing-off-the-neighbors business. Of course, the actual amplified screeching guitar is more fun and sounds more natural, but you take what you can get.

On this particular day, I was having no particular inspiration lyrically (big surprise), so I started experimenting with the presets. The vocal sound that grabbed me was called 'Distorted Boombox Vox'. Voila! A song germinates. I imagined John Cusack holding his boombox over his head at the climax of "Say Anything", but playing Tom Tom Club instead of Peter Gabriel...

Drumbeat courtesy of Garage Band. All other sounds created by me.

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